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Weekly Insights for Entrepreneurs
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| Year: 2025-26 |
Tuesday 28th October, 2025 |
Volume/Issue: 99 |
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● DPM 2025 to simplify defence buys; MSME boost
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● Credit guarantee plan for MSME exporters (loans ≤ ₹100 cr)
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● IIT Madras Research Park to launch ₹500 cr deep-tech fund
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● Nithin Kamath on India’s shifting VC & startup trends
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● IIT-M ‘Ideas to Impact’ demo day: 38 eco-innovations
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● Diwali sales hit ₹5.4T; ‘Swadeshi’ push lifts demand
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● Private capex proposals double to ₹10.55T (H1 FY26)
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● ₹13,000 cr scheme to build a global toy hub
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● RBI adds gold, pares US Treasuries amid uncertainty
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● Nano/micro GCCs grow 20% as MNCs ramp up R&D
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● 800-km BrahMos variant nears readiness
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● IIT Gandhinagar hydrogel speeds wound healing
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● ISRO to launch CMS-03 via LVM3 on Nov 2
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● BHU–IIT engineered cell therapy for diabetic wounds
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● IIT Hyderabad ‘RadGLO’ AI tool for brain-tumour diagnosis
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Defence Minister highlighted that Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025, effective from November 1, 2025, will simplify procurement procedures, standardise processes across services, and ensure timely provision of goods and services necessary for operational preparedness.
He noted that the revised framework will create greater opportunities for MSMEs and startups in defence manufacturing and technology while maintaining fairness, transparency, and accountability.
The manual provides for assured orders of up to five years or more for items developed by public or private players under indigenisation.
All Request For Proposals (RFPs) issued after November 1, 2025, will follow DPM 2025 provisions, while those issued before October 31, 2025, will continue under DPM 2009 (amended).
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To aid exporters facing losses and help them diversify into new markets, the Centre may soon announce a credit guarantee programme for MSME exporters availing loans of up to Rs 100 crore.
The proposed scheme could be modelled on the Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme (MCGS) launched in January 2025 for the manufacturing sector but with simplified terms.
The MCGS currently provides a 60% guarantee coverage by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to member lending institutions for credit facilities up to Rs 100 crore. The coverage applies to loans for equipment or machinery purchases, with an upfront contribution of 5% of the loan amount at the time of guarantee application.
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According to Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO of IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), the fund aims to bridge critical financing gaps faced by startups in the seed, pre-Series A, and Series A stages.
“The goal is to provide startups with enough runway to develop deep-tech products and attract commercial investment,” said Malupillai. The fund will typically invest between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5 crore per startup.
While IITMRP-incubated ventures will be the primary focus, the fund will also support deep-tech companies nationwide that align with key national themes.
The fund will focus on three to four major themes that leverage IIT Madras’ research strengths. Given the long gestation periods of deep-tech ventures, it will follow a 10+1+1 model — a 10-year tenure with two optional one-year extensions.
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He presented a broad overview of the current trends and structural shifts that are shaping India’s startup ecosystem.
Early interest concentrated around e-commerce and fintech sectors like lending and payments. But as those opportunities have saturated, there is a noticeable shift toward more challenging, complex areas, such as deep tech.
“Cheap Internet has spread talent and aspiration beyond metros into rural India. Better education means more risk-takers, and the growing economy attracts global institutional capital,” he explained.
He also acknowledged the role of strong mentorship in turning ideas into viable businesses and noted that entrepreneurship has become “aspirational in parts of the country.”
On the funding side, Kamath said, “Every wealthy individual now has a 'family office,' and there's a global rush into VC/PE. Stocks and bonds are boring; private investing is popular among the wealthy.”
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Spearheaded by the Sustainability Venture Studio (SVS) within the IIT Madras School of Sustainability, this pioneering initiative empowers college students and early-stage innovators to convert their ideas into viable technologies that tackle pressing environmental challenges.
Each of the 38 selected teams underwent a six-month development phase to refine their solutions under expert mentorship, culminating in this Demo Day where they pitch before a distinguished panel of investors, industry experts, and IIT Madras faculty.
To further nurture these high-potential innovations, the Carbon Zero Challenge has forged a strategic partnership with NIRMAAN, IIT Madras’ pre-incubation hub.
'IDEAS TO IMPACT’ GRAND DEMO – BRIEF ON THE 38 TEAMS....
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Diwali sales this year reached a record ₹5.4 trillion in goods, up 25 per cent from last year, excluding an additional ₹65,000 crore from services, according to the trade body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which attributed the rise to the Prime Minister’s call for a “Swadeshi Diwali”.
Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general of CAIT, said 87 per cent of consumers preferred Indian-made goods over imported ones, leading to a sharp fall in demand for Chinese products.
72 per cent of traders directly linked higher sales volumes to reduced GST rates on daily-use products like footwear, garments, home décor items, and consumer durables.
Diwali trade activity this year created 5 million temporary jobs across logistics, packaging, transport, and retail services. Rural and semi-urban India accounted for about 28 per cent of total trade, indicating deeper economic participation beyond metros.
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Fresh investment proposals from private promoters nearly doubled to Rs 10.55 trillion across around 1,800 projects, up from Rs 5.69 trillion in the same period last year.
Overall, new investment projects in Q2 rose 62% to over Rs 15 trillion, taking total outlays in the first half (H1) of FY26 to Rs 34 trillion, marking a 22.3% increase over H2 FY25. Private sector plans accounted for more than 70% of this total, up from 61% in Q2 and H2 FY25. Foreign investors' capex plans jumped 130% to Rs 3.56 trillion.
Key sectors attracting investment included metals, petrochemicals, fertilisers, electronics, automobiles, and digital infrastructure
Electricity sector outlays grew 38.5% to Rs 12.93 trillion, driven by large-scale solar, wind, thermal, and hydel projects. Manufacturing projects surged 34% to Rs 8.81 trillion. Irrigation investments, in the meantime, skyrocketed 188% to Rs 1.05 trillion.
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Once approved by the Cabinet, the scheme will offer multiple benefits to toy manufacturers. These include Turnover-Linked Incentives (TLI) to reward higher sales, Localisation-Linked Incentives (LLI) to encourage domestic sourcing of materials, and Employment-Linked Incentives (ELI) to promote job creation.
The move aligns with the “National Action Plan for Toys” announced in the Union Budget 2025, which focuses on developing toy manufacturing clusters, improving product quality, and encouraging innovation.
India’s toy sector has been undergoing major reforms in recent years. The government has raised import duties on toy components, enforced stricter quality standards, and supported new toy clusters in states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
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The RBI appears to be showing a growing preference for gold over dollar-based assets, according to data reported by The RBI and the US Department of Treasury. Since the start of the current fiscal year, the central bank has been steadily boosting its gold reserves while gradually cutting back on its holdings of US Treasury securities.
RBI's gold stockpile has now exceeded 880 tonnes after the addition of 600 kilograms so far this fiscal. In contrast, India's investment in US Treasury securities has fallen to a seven-month low of $219 billion.
Economists view this trend as part of a broader strategy to diversify India's forex holdings amid concerns over the US economy and global trade frictions.
“From a market perspective, there is uncertainty in the state of the US economy and implications of tariffs. Interest rate policy also is uncertain given inflation potential. This supports the action of buying gold.”
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Global giants are now setting up nano and micro Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, sparked by a surge in innovation and R&D efforts.
Nano GCCs are compact, specialised centres employing 25–250 people—designed for speed, agility and niche focus—unlike traditional GCCs, which have more than 250 employees that handle diverse, large-scale functions.
Often serving as pilot hubs for future expansion, nano GCCs exemplify a shift toward lean, domain-specific global capability models that prioritise agility over size.
“The overall count of GCCs in India is about 1,800, employing around 1.6 million people. As of March-end 2024, these GCCs generated about $64.6 billion in revenue, which is estimated to touch $100 billion by 2030, according to industry body Nasscom.
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“The 800-km BrahMos is more or less developed in terms of the modifications to its ramjet engine. A few more tests are required to test the efficacy of its combination of internal INS (inertial navigation system) and external global navigation satellite systems to ensure high accuracy, resilience, and resistance to jamming,” a source told the ToI.
India is currently using locally manufactured liquid-fueled ramjet engines on the BrahMos.
Major airframe assemblies, which form an integral part of the ramjet engine, are indigenously developed by the Indian industry.
Indigenous manufacture of the Russian ramjet engine paved the way for the development of an indigenously developed liquid-fuel ramjet engine (LFRJ) tweaked to increase the range of the BrahMos missile.
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“The new hydrogel is a composite material made from natural ingredients like Guar Gum and tragacanth gum, providing a moist, healing environment. Its strength and unique properties come from adding tiny particles: laponite nanoclay and polyethyleneimine (PEI), which act as cross-linkers,”
“To boost its power, the gel is infused with zingerone nanoparticles, a potent natural compound extracted from ginger that further enhances its germ-fighting and protective capabilities.”
“Being stable and injectable, it can easily fill irregular wound cavities and be integrated into medical devices. By significantly accelerating healing and minimising complications like infection, this “super gel” could lead to faster recovery, reduced hospital stays, and a better quality of life for millions, the researchers said.
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Weighing about 4,400 kilograms, CMS-03 is designed as a multi-band communication satellite, it will cover a wide oceanic region, including the entire Indian landmass, ensuring robust communication capabilities for both civilian and strategic applications.
The satellite aims to enhance India’s digital connectivity, strengthen telecommunication infrastructure, and support applications like television broadcasting, disaster management, and secure government communications.
The mission underlines ISRO’s strategic focus on combining space innovation with national development.
With this launch, India continues its steady journey toward becoming a global leader in space technology, reinforcing the country’s growing dominance in both scientific exploration and commercial satellite capability.
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The researchers engineered human cells to simultaneously produce three therapeutic proteins: VEGFA, which promotes the formation of new blood vessels; Factor VIII, which controls bleeding; and IL-10, which reduces inflammation.
These engineered cells were encapsulated in alginate hydrogel microcapsules, which protect them from the body’s immune system and ensure the continuous release of healing proteins at the wound site.
Dr Mukherjee explained, “These cell-laden hydrogel capsules function like tiny living drug factories, sensing the wound’s condition and continuously supplying essential therapeutic molecules, enabling rapid and complete wound healing.”
The research team is now working toward human clinical trials, bringing new hope to the approximately 830 million diabetic patients worldwide.
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It enables cancer specialists to diagnose and analyse brain tumours without relying on invasive procedures like a surgical biopsy. The ground-breaking computational platform, named RadGLO, extracts crucial genetic-level insights directly from a normal MRI scan, paving the way for personalised, non-invasive treatment planning.
With advancements in computational technology, the field of radiomics has emerged as a non-invasive alternative that can extract high-dimensional quantitative information from MRI scans.
As part of the study, the IIT-H researchers have developed RaSPr (Radiomic Survival Predictor) and RadGLO ((Glioma Radiomics Analysis Platform).
The RadGLO is an interactive web platform that allows doctors and researchers to find radiomic markers that can distinguish between dangerous high-grade and less aggressive low-grade gliomas.
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